Page 107 - Perfect Phrases for Motivating and Rewarding

■ “Tapas, I could use your help. I have a new client from India,
and I just came from a meeting that felt strained. I’m having
trouble reading him. If I fill you in, can you tell me whether
his reactions reflect cultural norms or whether I should be
concerned?”
■ “Nguyen is not showing disrespect by avoiding eye contact. In
his culture, lack of eye contact is a sign of respect.”
■ “Personal space and comfort zones vary among different
cultures. Let’s work to raise our awareness out of respect for
each other and our clients.”
■ “Our Hispanic customer base has increased significantly. In
addition to our bilingual support staff, I strongly recommend
our in-house Spanish for Business course for all managers and
supervisors.”
■ “I realize that we can’t all become proficient in the many
languages of our housekeeping staff, but we can learn a
few phrases in their languages to show that while they’re
struggling to learn English, we’re trying too.”
■ “We’re adding glossaries to our upward mobility manuals to
assist those attendees whose first language is not English.”
■ “You did the right thing by telling me about the offensive
statements you overheard. I’ll talk with everyone who was
there immediately and if it happens again, please don’t
hesitate to tell me. We have a zero-tolerance policy for that
kind of language, and I’m sorry you were subjected to it.”
■ “Different cultures use different greetings. Mirror the greeting
you receive.”

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